I know that I am lucky to live in New England. I am lucky because we have gorgeous distinct seasons, and most particularly, we have pretty colors during the fall.

“Regarde maman, cet arbre est tout rouge ! ” (Look maman, this tree is all red!) Lulu exclaimed one day as she and I were driving back from school. It was impossible not to notice. She noticed. I noticed. We were feeling excited and warm inside from just looking at the display of the cheerful colors lining up the road. It looked so happy! Secretly, I wanted for this everyday scene to last for weeks. Until Thanksgiving at least, I thought.

We are actually not far from it happening for real. Beside our unexpected snow storm, the weather in Boston has been mild and beautiful. The farmer’s markets have offered amazingly pretty and tasty fall produce: from winter squashes, radishes, apples, fresh ginger, cranberries, sprouts to colorful root vegetables.

It’s colorful.

It’s inspiring.

Cranberry picking in New England

Copley Square farmer’s market in Boston

I’ve not grown up with the Thanksgiving tradition but I’ve learned to love it. For years, we’ve been invited to friends’ houses who cooked amazing meals. It’s during one of these dinners that I most likely ate my first pecan pie ever, wondering why I had never eaten one before.

This year, however, I am hosting the holiday with P.’s parents in the comfort of our own home. And I am really excited about what we will be cooking together.

Sharing and blending different food cultures.

New England in the fall-
A collage to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday

My Thanksgiving menu is not set in stone yet–still thinking and rethinking, something I’m rather skilled at–but I already know that there will be turkey. Perhaps traditional. And I will prepare a kabocha squash and apple soup, using a favorite recipe of mine that I’ve made over and over during the years.

This year, our soup will have aromas of ginger, lemongrass, mace and coriander, and I will round the taste with a dash of cream, freshly sliced apples and toasted hazelnuts. We tested it. We loved it.

Kabocha squash and apple soup with hazelnuts

I will bake a potato, celeriac, apple and butternut squash gratin. Because a root vegetable gratin celebrates the fall like no other dish does.

Potato, celeriac, butternut squash and apple gratin

We will eat chocolate, with individual ramekins filled with cardamom-flavored pear and chocolate clafoutis.

Chocolate and pear clafoutis

And we’ll eat salad. A fun colorful salad full of crunch. The first time I made it, I loved it even before trying it.

The thought for this salad came last week after I visited one of my local farmer’s markets where I found delicious-looking young heads of celeriac. I knew they had to go in a salad.

What about if I added red cabbage, radishes and apples? I thought while adding a few pieces of each to my basket.

I looked for a name to qualify my newly imagined salad, and because of its finely chopped texture, somehow the word taboulé (tabbouleh) came to my mind. So I dressed the salad with exactly what I would have for a taboulé: loads of aromatic fresh herbs, lemon juice, hazelnut oil and a rich fragrant extra virgin olive oil (I actually used one recently offered to me by California Olive Ranch which I’m enjoying a lot.)

“Yum!” P. said when we sat down at the table to eat lunch. “I love it!”

“Really? Enough to include it to our Thanksgiving dinner?” I asked.

“Sure. It’s really surprising and different.”

I looked at him and realized it was. And at the same time it wasn’t since the French often eat raw celeriac in a salad.

But what I understood was that my unusual tabbouleh would be a wonderful addition to our menu to celebrate gorgeous local fall produce, the Thanksgiving holiday, and my French roots.

Next week, we will feel American. French. Irish. Together.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! What will you be cooking, I wonder?

Does anyone know the name of this beautiful purple berry I found at the Botanical garden a few weeks ago?

Just when I was telling you that colors are simply magical around here at this time of year…

52 comments

Oh the pinks and purples are so pretty! The photos of cranberries, apples, radishes, and radicchio inspire me to see autumn in a new way. Love the pear clafoutis too. I’ve been thinking lately that a mish mash Thanksgiving menu inspired by different cuisines is the best kind.

What a beautiful post! I’m an American expat in Australia … so I understand the integration of traditions. Australia doesn’t have Thanksgiving (and it’s *so* hot here in November) so I do my own traditional meal in the autumn down-under – April. And it’s definitely an integration of my former lives, so to speak.

But damn. Looking at your photos, I miss the red leaves. I miss building up piles of them to run through. And I love that picture of your daughter most of all – how you captured one of the *joys* of childhood, right there. It makes me happy to look at it 🙂

I miss fall in New England! My mouth starts to water seeing and reading about these wonderfull dishes! F. loves red cabbage salad, so I’m sure we will try it soon. Tonight I’m making radicciosalad with orange juice (recipe from our weekly biofarmer-package. Happy thanksgiving! xxx

The soup sounds delightful! Sounds like you will have a lovely Thanksgiving. Blessings to you and your family. By the way–where did you find those adorable flowery spoons?? I’m loving all your props, as usual!!! On a different not–I finally found a moment to order your book and I’m counting the days until it arrives!!

Miam miam! I’m planning my own French American Thanksgiving fête à Paris, but it will certainly be less beautiful and delicious than yours!
J’ADORE your site! I just launched a new healthy cooking video website — I’m the reverse of you, une Américaine à Paris — and would LOVE to incorporate your recipes (and link to your blog, bien sûr 🙂 Where can I find the apple kombucha soup recipe for example? If you have any other gluten and dairy-free recipes you think might be great for Fall that I can use and cite you, would be formidable, merci! Looking forward to reading more about your Franco-American aventures en cuisine and Happy Thanksgiving!http://rebecook.wikitu.be/

Wanted to comment on your cookbook Bea. It is spectacular. I’ve made 2 chocolate cakes, risotto and a tart. They were all delish! Two mentions, we love BI, too. We have a house there and feel you captured it beautifully. Second, where can I find quinoa flakes? I don’t see them at WFs. Thank you for such inspiration. Kat.

I made your celeriac red cabbage salad, and it was absolutely delicious. The first night it was all pink, and leftovers the second night were purple, surprising colors, yet it was so refreshing and crunchy, we loved it. It was the first time I had ever tried to use celeriac. Thank you for your inspiration through stories, photos, and recipes.

Thank your for again a beautiful post.
The berries are probably Callicarpa bodinieri var. garaldii. You see these shrubs in many gardens in continental Europe, as the birds do not like the berries and you keep the lovely berries well into winter.

Thank you so much everyone, and for those who told me the name of these berries. I feel better now that I know.

Wendy, so pleased you enjoyed the salad. Makes me happy to read!

Mounia, I will post the soup recipe soon. Thank you for your patience.

The spoons are from the French company Sabre.

Kathleen, *so* pleased you made recipes from the book and liked them. Needless to say I am super happy to know that. As to quinoa flakes, my Whole Foods carries them but if you cannot find them, check this link

Pretty salad! and it just so happens I have almost everything already (bits and pieces from recipe testing can be challenging to use up!). I will be eating this on Thursday with my family and thinking of you and yours. A little crunch is necessary with all the rest of the dinner!

What a lovely post! As we get ready for our thanksgiving meal made from produce at our farmer’s market—they did a special Tuesday market for TG and the weather has been in the 70s—we’re thinking of you and wishing we were cooking together! Happy Thanksgiving!

Your blog is beautiful, thank you for sharing your wonderful photos, they always brighten my day.
I would love to make the squash soup for Christmas, could you please post your recipe ? It would be much appreciated.
Many thanks

Béatrice Peltre is a food writer, stylist and photographer working out of her home studio in Boston.
She is a regular contributor to the Boston Globe Food Section, and her work has appeared in many publications
such as Saveur, Food and Wine, Whole Living, Fine Cooking, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, the Huffington Post,
the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, Edible Boston, Living France, the New York Times Diner’s Journal,
and in many other international magazines.